New Delhi, May 23 -- Co-signing is often considered a show of trust and support in the personal finance world, but the shared liability that comes with that goodwill can have long lasting consequences on your credit health.

When you co-sign, you are committing to pay the loan or line of credit should the principal borrower default. This help for someone else can ultimately be of benefit to those with weak or limited credit history. But from the lender's perspective, you bear the same risk even though the borrower gets the actual money or credit.

When you co-sign a loan or credit account, it appears on your credit report as if you are the borrower. Your timely or late payments on that account directly affect your credit score.

By repayi...